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On Shaky Ground
Before 2008 the residents of Dallas–Fort Worth had rarely felt the ground shake. There had been a couple of tremors over the years, but for the most part, the area was seismically stable. That is,...
View ArticlePatrick Advisor Was Present at Garland Shooting
One of Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s grassroots advisory committee members apparently was a promoter of the Garland event that came under gunfire on Sunday. According to his Facebook page, Ken...
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The List: Best and Worst 2015
Ever since its founding, Texas Monthly’s coverage of the Legislature has culminated in a biennial list of the Ten Best and Ten Worst legislators. This year was no exception, although the Eighty-fourth...
View ArticleAt Least One Person Didn’t Like the Worst List
The lieutenant governor responds to our selections: The post At Least One Person Didn’t Like the Worst List appeared first on Texas Monthly.
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Rick Perry: An Appreciation
One Thursday in early May 2009, I groggily made my way to see Rick Perry speak at a 6:30 a.m. prayer breakfast. At the time, I was a reporter for the Texas Observer, where I’d been covering Texas...
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Wendy Davis Surfaces
When last we saw Wendy Davis in the media spotlight, she was conceding the governor’s race on election night, having lost to Greg Abbott by 20 points. Since then the former city council member and...
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The Latest Planned Parenthood Dustup
You probably saw the latest headlines about Planned Parenthood. On Monday, Texas health officials—applauded by Governor Greg Abbott—announced that they’re seeking to exclude Planned Parenthood from the...
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Time of Fear
The photograph says it all. So much of what we love and loathe about Texas is right there in the now-famous image, captured on a Monday in mid-September, of a spindly freshman at MacArthur High School...
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Did Texas Pre-Judge Planned Parenthood?
The saga surrounding Planned Parenthood took an odd turn on Thursday. Investigators with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) showed up unannounced at clinics in four cities. State...
View ArticleTexas Official Gives Hints of Evidence Against Planned Parenthood
Stuart Bowen, the man at the center of Texas’s controversial inquiry of Planned Parenthood, said today the probe began after his office found new evidence of possible fraud committed by the embattled...
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The Ted Offensive
For a long time it was easy to discount Ted Cruz as a credible presidential candidate. As a junior senator with more ambition than power, Cruz has sought to pull the Republican party down around him,...
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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Guns in Texas
FIRST, A VOCABULARY LESSON AR-15 – n. The famous—some might say infamous—rifle that’s a civilian version of the M16. Contrary to what you’ve heard, the “AR” doesn’t stand for “assault rifle” but...
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Bathroom Pass
One Friday in May—Friday the 13th, no less—Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick convened a press conference in Dallas to discuss the latest threat to Texas. That morning the Supreme Court of Texas had...
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Longest-Serving Female Legislator Tells All
Senfronia Thompson has quite a busy summer planned. In late July the 77-year-old state representative will travel to Philadelphia for the Democratic National Convention, where she will help nominate...
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Right Aid
One October evening a few years ago, I was driving through the Hill Country on my way to report a story in San Angelo. Twilight was encroaching when I steered around a blind curve and, to my horror,...
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Trump’s Weakness in Texas Is a Fluke
On Monday, the Real Clear Politics site declared that Texas is up for grabs in the presidential election. The shift comes after a series of polls showing a tight race in the state between Hillary...
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The Aftermath
It’s been a week since Donald Trump’s stunning victory, and the shock hasn’t really worn off. Nor is there any more certainty about what kind of president Trump will be. Given Trump’s lack of a core...
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Capitol Crisis
She is identified in court records simply by the initials “S.A.” While we don’t know her name, we do know a great deal about the emotional and physical abuse she endured in Texas’s foster care system....
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Flush With Power
Texas politics is defined by one-party rule. Republicans so thoroughly dominate—they have controlled every statewide office and both chambers of the Legislature for fourteen years—that Democrats have...
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A House Divided
It should have been an easy day in the Texas House. We’re only seven weeks into the session—well within the honeymoon period when lawmakers are still spending most of their time passing commemorative...
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Party Hopping
The accusations started flying in December. The Texas Legislature was about to convene its eighty-fifth session, and those darn liberals were once again obstructing progress, or so conservatives...
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2015: The Best and Worst Legislators
The Eighty-fourth Legislature was like a professional baseball team that had just seen many of its starters retire—or not have their contracts renewed by management. In the most dramatic changing of...
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